


I'd die to be with you.

by enigmaticma



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Accidenta eating disorder, Alternate Universe - Office, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Not Beta Read, Shadowhunters mentionned, Slow Romance, Slow burn without the burn, Slowly Built
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28967742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticma/pseuds/enigmaticma
Summary: In their war to win the same girl's heart, Jongdae and Baekhyun will accept their role as Magnus and Alec, a gay couple in a play adaptation for the Shadowhunters story. They didn't expect the roles to reflect more than just love between the characters.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Swords and Hearts 2020





	I'd die to be with you.

**Author's Note:**

> **Code:** SAH130.  
>  **Prompt:** Both A and B have a raging crush on the same girl and since she's auditioning for the female protagonist of their school's musical, both of them aim for the role of the male protagonist. But what the hell are they supposed to do now that they're tricked into accepting the roles of a gay couple?  
>  **Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction and none of the characters are owned by Swords and Hearts. All creative rights and ownership of this particular work of fiction lie with the respective authors.**
> 
> **Author's Note:** I didn't get it beta read so I hope you will forgive me. I am also bad with tagging but I'll fix it when I can.

Because of the huge popularity of the Shadow hunters, an American Series, Baekhyun’s high school drama club planned a modified play for their senior year play. It was such exciting news for the entire high school that even sophomores applied for roles. And among the excited kids was Byun Baekhyun. 

He didn’t care about the series but Kang Soomi, his crush, was applying for the main role of Clary Fray, the protagonist and Clary Fray had a lover and Baekhyun aimed at it. He got in the drama club main room to find people already there. He frowned when he noticed Jongdae there. 

He and Jongdae used to be friends in junior year, but when he discovered that Jongdae too crushed on Soomi, that friendship soon turned into a rivalry. They tried to win Soomi’s favour for the entire junior and sophomore year, failing miserably as Soomi seemed clueless the entire time.

“Hey Byun,” Jongdae gave him a smirk as he asked, “came to fail?” Baekhyun ignored that and Jongdae chuckled amusedly as it was his turn. They both passed the audition that day, returning to their daily activities with buzzing anticipation. Jongdae and Baekhyun exchanged daring smirks, each thinking they would have the audition for the main male role. 

The next day, they were facing a different reality. Baekhyun was given the role of Magnus Bane, an eccentric warlock and Jongdae was given the role of Alec Lightwood. They looked at each other in pure terror because Alec and Magnus were lovers in the story. 

“Of course, to avoid any issues, the scenes would be moderated,” the theatre teacher said with a reassuring tone, “so you won’t have to show any excessive emotions.” 

Jongdae and he couldn’t say anything. Soomi seemed so excited about them playing her favourite characters and so did almost every girl and it felt like an opportunity for both of them. 

During practice, Baekhyun was kind of mad that Jongdae had more scenes with Soomi than he did but when it came to them, his heart didn’t stop from racing as he was openly flirting with Jongdae. He knew it was all acting but his heart felt different. 

Jongdae’s flustered expression in their interaction wasn’t helping either. 

It made him avoid Jongdae like a plague and he realized Jongdae did the same whenever their eyes meet in the hallways. He didn’t know how their interactions during practice weren’t awkward. 

“Kim, Byun,” the teacher called them as the practice ended for the day and they tensed as she approached them, “may I have a word with you both?” 

“Yes teacher,” they said in unison and the woman led them backstage where they had a table and chairs. She sat down facing them and seemed quite worried.

“I sense that you are getting less and less enthusiastic about your roles,” She stated, “and I hoped you could be honest with me about it before I send the finale list of actors to the principal. I hope you realize that this play is getting a lot of attention and your awkwardness can ruin everything.” They said nothing and the woman sighed before suggesting, “talk about it and if you have a way out of this, please let me know before the following practice. Okay?” 

“Yes, Teacher,” the boys said before heading out. They exchanged a brief exchange of eye contacts but said nothing. It took Jongdae to ask Baekhyun to the roof for them to talk. Baekhyun wasn’t surprised by the request since the roof was creepy but the way his body started shaking was a total shock. The idea of them being together alone was … weird but not in a weird way, and he was affected. 

“What do you want?” He asked Jongdae as he closed the door when he got yanked and kissed right then. 

He stood there wide eyes looking at Jongdae’s sparkling ones which kept looking at him as the kid pulled away, “I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone,” he said, “and that play means nothing to me.” 

“Then why did you do this?” Baekhyun stuttered, overwhelmed by the kiss more than by Jongdae’s words. 

“To let you know that I am not intimidated by either you or the role,” Jongdae spoke rather confidently, “I have proven to myself that I was able to overcome the awkwardness of being with you in the same play, the ball is on your side. You either play Magnus Bane properly or leave.” 

Baekhyun looked at Jongdae as if he got a new head, and long enough to make Jongdae look at him uncomfortably, “you… You want to do it?” He asked. 

“I do,” Jongdae lifted his head as he said so which made him look quite confident but somehow Baekhyun knew it was fake. 

He knew deep within that Jongdae felt the same as him but they did their best since. They performed Magnus and Alec the best they could with the little romance they had - which made most students sad but their parents quite pleased, at the Senior graduation party. It was their last extra-curriculum activity before the prom party and everybody except Jongdae and Baekhyun buzzed with happiness. Soomi was going to be with Jace’s actor while the boys didn’t bother to ask her out.

They didn’t focus on her anymore. 

As the play ended and everybody could go home to get ready for prom, Baekhyun and Jongdae somehow remained alone in the dressing room. They stood in pure silence for a while before Jongdae spoke, “you were great back there.” 

“So were you,” Baekhyun mumbled as he left the vanity and faced Jongdae properly, “It was nice to play this with you… humph!” He yelped as Jongdae pulled him to a kiss, a deep passion-driven kiss in which he couldn’t hold himself from giving back and touching more. They barely had one hug, a few moments of skinship but a lot of loving dialogues, which felt unfair for Baekhyun.

He died to touch Jongdae every time they were on stage and more with the shadowhunter gears. They parted and Baekhyun realized Jongdae’s eyes were tearing up. They looked at each other, words stuck in their throats but jumped away from each other as they heard steps close. Baekhyun acted like he was still trying to clean his face from the makeup while Jongdae was folding his clothes. He was wearing a suit for the finale scene and like many, they were going to the prom party wearing that suit. 

“Hey, Jongdae! Man, you were awesome,” Jongdae’s friends said, pulling him out. He laughed with his friends but still turned back to look at Baekhyun one last time before he left and Baekhyun didn’t miss that.

He didn’t and it only made him feel miserable. He didn’t even bother to go to the prom party, heading home and lying in bed where he faked being asleep. 

He didn’t know what to do for college so he went into training in the military, quite earlier than he was requested to, and applied for an IT major, aiming to be a computer programmer or a Quality tester since both jobs were in very high demand and very tasking. He just… He just wanted to focus on something and forget about high school altogether.

but in all honesty, Jongdae haunted his nights since. He wanted to just see the boy again but it didn’t happen, for the seven years that followed the graduation.

He truly lost hope and was open to meet new people when he got a job as an intern only to find out he wasn’t the only intern there. “Oh, hello Byun,” Jongdae greeted, while Baekhyun froze as he had seen a ghost, “the world is small, I guess. I didn’t expect to see you.” They looked at each other, eyeing each other but Jongdae eventually spoke again, “I am a senior intern here, I joined six months ago,” he commented before pointing a finger gun at Baekhyun, “beat you on that, didn’t I?” 

“Being here first, don’t make you the best,” Baekhyun commented with a scoff, “we will see how you will perform later, Kim.”

“Highschool rivals?” Their supervisor asked and they nodded. He smiled at that and made sure to put them on opposing teams. Baekhyun was initially upset about it but as the day went on, he was happy he didn’t have to work with Jongdae tightly. 

When the day ended and they had to leave, he realized his heart stopped beating miles per second and his mind was clearer about Jongdae than how it felt when he met Jongdae around Lunchtime. “Aren’t you going home?” Baekhyun jumped out of his skin and looked at Jongdae who eyed him in worry. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” he breathed out. He still didn’t move and Jongdae eyed him, still worried. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he eventually said and Jongdae nodded. 

Once home, Baekhyun curled in his bed, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. “I can’t be still crushing on that kid, that’s impossible,” he mumbled to himself, “that’s impossible!” 

He tried to act normal the next day, working harder than he could. It was draining but he did his best not to think of Jongdae who he met by Lunch. The man acknowledged him with a nod but they didn’t talk and Baekhyun’s heart ached for it. He wanted to… What did he want exactly? He wasn’t sure.

He sat down alone, as he didn’t make friends yet when some girls surrounded him. He was happy with the distraction because it felt like he would turn mad as long as Jongdae was a few feets away. The girls teased him for his good looks, asking him if he had someone. “No…” he answered and looked around noticing Jongdae was gone.

He was disappointed but still smiling. He allowed them to fill the silence but his mind drifted back to Jongdae. He didn’t even finish eating before the break was done so much his mind was busy. He ended up too tired to walk home and slept on the bus. If it wasn’t for his mother’s sudden call, he would have missed the stop. He rushed out, hit by the cold so much he was warm and hurriedly made his way home, picking a dollar worth of rice cakes on his way. He hadn’t the strength to cook so he just ate it on the elevator and on his way to his small condo, then slept as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He repeated the same routine for a month before he collapsed as he printed something for a senior. He felt hands on him but he was too dizzy to make out who it was. He was given water and candy which he accepted because he forgot when he ate last. He was led to the cafeteria then handed over a chocolate bar and he munched on it, without opening his eyes because he felt dizzy, until he felt that he could sit up and move then he noticed Jongdae in front of him. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I was hungry,” Baekhyun lied. He wasn’t just hungry, he was malnourished. “I am sorry for causing inconvenience.” 

“People noticed that you were overworking yourself and that some senior took advantage of it,” Jongdae stated, “The director of the department scolded the entire department for it and asked us to be responsible.” Jongdae noticed how Baekhyun avoided looking at him and just sighed. “Are you okay, Baekhyun? You don’t seem fine to me.” 

“Have you met Soomi ever since?” Baekhyun asked instead. Jongdae looked confused when Baekhyun faced him. “Soomi, Kang Soo Mi? The girl we spent our Senior year fighting over?” 

“Oh, Clary girl, yeah I remember her but I haven't met her since. Why? You met her?” 

Baekhyun shook his head, scoffing in amusement. “I didn’t. I didn’t meet a single person from school aside from you which feels like a punishment.” Jongdae looked at him with an offended expression. “I can’t forget you kissed me, Jongdae, or that I felt something back then or that…” 

“I didn’t either but I’m not seeing it as a punishment,” Jongdae whined. 

Baekhyun sighed. “What is it then? I thought I forgot but meeting you just… reminded me that I didn’t.” 

“You didn’t? Like you didn’t stop thinking about me at all?” Too tired to feel embarrassed by the way their discussion went, Baekhyun shook his head and Jongdae smiled brightly. “I didn’t stop thinking about you too. I also hoped I’d meet you someday and just… hold you one more time.” 

Baekhyun didn’t expect that and he turned red as Jongdae held his hand.

“Let me take you out for dinner and we will talk, okay?” Jongdae offered and Baekhyun nodded but as they reached the Cafeteria’s door, heading out to their offices, Baekhyun felt suddenly yanked and hugged. He melted in seconds and smiled brightly before Jongdae let him go. “Don’t overwork yourself, okay?” 

“I won’t,” Baekhyun promised but he was still too tired to do anything all day. He still got few reports done and finished a chart but by the time he was done for the day and headed out, he was about to faint. 

“Baekhyun?” Johgdae’s voice boomed in his ear and he winced, looking up from the floor to notice that Jongdae was standing right by his office. “Are you okay?” 

“Tired, just tired,” Baekhyun assured but Jongdae still held into him until they were out. He was soon in a car, driven somewhere, but too tired to argue. Once the car parked and Jongdae opened the door for him, he asked. “Where am I?”

“In my place,” Jongdae said. “You are too exhausted to go home on your own so I drove you to mine. Come, I’ll make you dinner.” Baekhyun whined but didn’t argue. The walk to Jongdae place was blurry; Baekhyun could only focus on Jongdae’s hands on him. Once he was settled on a fluffy bed, covered with a blanket, Jongdae announced that he would make food for them. 

Baekhyun slept as soon as the man left his side. He woke up on a soft nudge and an alluring smell of food. He opened his eyes to find Jongdae, who was still wearing his clothes from work, helping him sit up. 

“I made you food,” Jongdae simply said as he offered the bowl of soup to Baekhyun. “Can you eat it?” Baekhyun nodded and forced himself up to sit. He was glad the food was cold enough for him to hold. He was starving enough to eat without noticing that Jongdae didn’t leave his side. Once he was done with the food, he felt much better and finally noticed the hand on his back. 

He looked at the worried-looking Jongdae and smiled softly. “Thank you for helping me today. I am sorry for inconveniencing you.” 

Jongdae frowned. “Baekhyun, you don’t have to thank me for so little,” he softly said. “Just rest for now, okay? I’ll see you in the morning.” Baekhyun didn’t argue but he didn’t want Jongdae gone as well. He observed the man who walked away with a tray, turning off the light on his way before he drifted into a dreamless sleep. 

His bladder woke him up at the verge of sunrise. The room was still basking in darkness but hints of light could seep through the window. He pushed the covers away and made his way out to the nearest room. It took him to open two doors to find the bathroom but when he was done washing his hands and face, he felt much more awake and decided to look for Jongdae. The man was curling on his sofa, obviously looking for warmth, and sleeping soundlessly. It was a cute sight and Baekhyun didn’t know what else to feel about it aside from pure joy. 

It was something he dreamed to see since that play. To watch Jongdae sleep, just Magnus watched Alec sleep, and just observe the wonder of Kim Jongdae. He knew however that it would be creepy so he walked back to the bed and waited. 

He felt Jongdae walk to the bathroom around six, two hours after he woke up. It made him sigh in relief because he nearly died of boredom. Jongdae opened the door as soon as he approached it. “Oh,” Jongdae blinked sleepily before smiling at Baekhyun and said, “Good morning, Baekhyun.” 

Baekhyun didn’t know which was blinding, the sunlight that filled the room or the man’s smile at that moment. “Good morning, Jongdae.” 

“Go to the living room, I’ll get myself ready to take you home so you can change,” Jongdae offered. 

Baekhyun was fast to hold his hand. “It’s okay, Dae,” Baekhyun reassured. “I don’t want to bother you with the drive.” Jongdae was about to object. “How about I go home and change and you get ready then we meet in the coffee shop facing the company for breakfast before work? We got like two hours.” 

“Sure, if so is your wish,” Jongdae said, clearly unwilling to let Baekhyun go. “Let me call for a taxi.” 

Baekhyun nodded as Jongdae was up for arguing and they didn’t have that much time for anything if he resisted. He simply made himself decent to leave and left as soon as Jongdae’s phone rang. Getting home and changing into better clothes didn’t take him more than fifteen minutes, mostly because he rushed through it so he could meet Jongdae.

He took the bus back, making sure he smelt good and that his hair wasn’t that wet. It was messy but looked good so he didn’t bother styling it. He noticed Jongdae as soon as he stepped out of the bus. The man was waiting for him there. “Oh, you didn’t take much to change,” Jongdae said as a tease and Baekhyun smiled. 

“Do I look good?” 

Jongdae chuckled at that and held Baekhyun’s hand which made the man look at him in the eyes. “You look perfect, Byun Baekhyun.” 

Jongdae took him several times after that to different locations, either to eat or to hang out, until Baekhyun started questioning the reason behind it. He started wondering especially when the girls started commenting about their closeness.

“You think it is weird to be close like that?” Baekhyun asked the girls who joined him for lunch. 

“Not weird,” one said with a reassuring smile. “Just cute. Actually, ever since you fainted, Mr Kim kept a tight watch on you and tried to keep you fed and hydrated. He even helped you most of the time. We think it’s cute.” 

“I think he has a crush on you,” commented another woman.

Baekhyun laughed it off but he didn’t push the thought aside. Jongdae offered him to drop him off home. “You live the opposite side,” Baekhyun complained. “Why would you drop me off?” 

Jongdae sighed, smiling still. “I thought I was obvious, Baekhyun,” Jongdae said as he pulled Baekhyun to the elevator. “I like spending time with you.” 

Baekhyun frowned, noticing the people who eyed them and kept his lips sealed until they were in the car. “Why?” 

“Hm?” Jongdae looked at him as he fastened his seatbelt, confused. 

Baekhyun sighed. “Why are you making such an effort to be around me, Jongdae? Are you trying to be friends with me?” 

“Friend could be a great step but I honestly want more,” Jongdae said with a smirk. “I thought you were smart enough to pick my hints.” Baekhyun looked at him, astonished when Jongdae just fisted his shirt and pulled him close to kiss the edge of his lips. “Is it clearer now?” Jongdae asked as he let go of Baekhyun’s shirt and sat back to observe the expression on Baekhyun’s face. 

Baekhyun was still astonished but he left the car before Jongdae could see any change on his face and the man followed him out. 

“Baekhyun? Wait!” Jongdae rushed to hold his wrist and BAekhyun yanked it away looking at Jongdae, with a confused and angry expression.

“Am I a joke to you? Is this a joke?” 

Jongdae huffed in shock. “I just kissed you, which is, by the way, took me a while to master my courage to do, and you think I am joking?” Jongdae looked away in disbelief. “I am trying to win you over and you think I am joking?” 

“Win me over? I thought we were rivals, I thought you just taking a pity on me because of what I said back when I first went to your place, I thought… I didn’t even imagine you saw me any different but you started taking me out and I’m confused as in why.” Baekhyun rambled, avoiding Jongdae’s eyes before he looked at the man who shockingly had tears on his eyes. “I didn’t know you saw me like that.” 

“I am sorry then,” Jongdae said. “I misunderstood and stepped over your boundaries.” He bowed and Baekhyun held him. 

“No, it’s not like that,” Baekhyun whined. “I didn’t think you would see me the way I saw you. I died to have you close. I dreamed of it even. But to dream is a thing, seeing it happen in real life is another thing.” Jongdae kept an upset look on the entire time. “I fainted that day because you didn’t seem interested to be around me and I tried the hardest to avoid you, I didn’t care to take care of myself because all I cared for was you. You, just you.” 

Jongdae sighed, looking away. “I gave you space because I thought you didn’t want me around.” He faced Baekhyun and said, “but I’ve been keeping an eye on you since day one.” 

Baekhyun sighed, closing his eyes. “Jongdae… I am sorry I fucked our first kiss,” he said, tired. “I just didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t even imagine you would be interested in me.” 

“I am sorry too,” Jongdae said, holding into Baekhyun. “I should have used words to express myself instead of actions. You didn’t seem to read me right.” 

Baekhyun lightly punched his shoulder. “You could mean anything with your action, alright. Don’t say it like I was dumb.” 

“Well,” Jongdae said teasingly. “Weren’t you?” Baekhyun punched him lightly again and he laughed. “Let’s go and have dinner together; It’s a date.” 

Baekhyun blushed instantly and shook his head. “I don’t want to go on a date with you, dressed up like this.” He even gave Jongdae a pout. “Let me go home and we can go on a date on Saturday.” 

“Saturday?” Jongdae’s eyes sparkled and Baekhyun found himself shyly nodding. “Let me drop you then.” Baekhyun sighed and tried to act as if he didn’t want to but spending time with Jongdae was everything he wanted to do right then. 


End file.
